“We’ve gone to so many of these award ceremonies and this one was where everything changed on home turf with my family in the audience.

“I used to watch this in Rayners Lane with my parents at the end of the Piccadilly Line, and for all of us to be here in our black and white and to walk the carpet, it’s kind of an out-of-body experience. Sorry, words aren’t coming right now.”

Dev himself was nominated for the best leading actor BAFTA for his role in the film but would have to wait nine years to get his hands on one of the movie industry’s top accolades.

Since Slumdog, he has had star turns in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, sci-fi Chappie and Aaron Sorkin’s television series The Newsroom, but has said his role in Lion is the one he has been waiting for.

"It’s hard when there is nothing good out there that is not your usual goofy best friend/funny sidekick/techie roles, so when a script like this comes by, it’s very rare,” he told Radio Times magazine.

And earlier this month he said flying into America felt like “a nightmare” after Donald Trump’s travel ban was announced.

He told the Press Association: “I’ve decided not to be quiet about how I’m feeling.

"I live here now. I have a home here. When I arrived back from India I felt like I was entering into a nightmare.

“I’m really grateful to the people out there marching and standing outside airports and all the protesters.”

Patel said unveiling Lion felt very different to his experiences promoting the film that made him a star.

The former Skins star won the award for his role in Lion

He said: “When Slumdog first premiered it was the time people were passing around badges that read Hope, and (Barack) Obama was about to step up and there was a beautiful loving atmosphere in the air, and the film spoke to that.

“Now we are in a very different stage, we socially, politically, feel more tender. People are worried.

“As an actor I am having conversations about how relevant it is to promote a film when the fabric of society is fraying.

“But I snuck into the end of a screening to watch the last seven minutes and was quite moved by the message it is putting out of unification and love that transcends continents. It makes me happy.”

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